“Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.” -Edward Abbey, DamNation

Every year we get our Flagstaff community together to celebrate rivers and raise awareness about threats they face. And every year we are amazed at the support of our community. We were lucky enough to bring DamNation to the Orpheum theatre for our annual benefit and to be a part of Colorado River Days. A huge thanks to our local Patagonia store, Mountain Sports who generously sponsored the event and made it happen. Without their financial contribution, it would have been impossible for us to have brought the event to fruition. Make sure to check them out in downtown if you are in need of any new winter gear!

The event was a huge success and was our biggest turnout yet- nearly 500 people came out for the show! We were so grateful all of the donations to our raffle from our lovely sponsors like Kahtoola MicroSpikes, Osprey luggage, Patagonia gear, Goal Zero solar panels, Klean Kanteen bottles, CLIF bars and Keen shoe cards. We gave away nearly $7,000 in awesome gear to the lucky raffle winners. In addition, we auctioned off a New Belgium special edition cruiser and a gear package including gear from each sponsor. The auction also included Klean Kanteen’s new Growler, not yet released! Entertainment throughout the raffle was provided by the wonderful Circus Bacchus who juggled, hooped and stilt walked their way around the crowded theatre.

This year was especially powerful as the infamous Katie Lee joined us for a Q&A. Her kind heart shined through her passionate speech and transferred us all to the shores of the Glen Canyon before it was tragically drowned by the Glen Canyon Dam.

Rios Libres wants to extend our immense gratitude to all of those that contributed or joined us for the event. It’s your support that makes these events inspiring and fun. We hope that it moved you to take action against destructive dams and to take notice of how dams have dramatically changed the landscape of the United States.

The Rios Libres Table

Circus Bacchus

The audience checking out the conservation booths

Q&A with Katie Lee and Andy Maser with Q

Audience members meeting Katie Lee

Montana, Katie Lee, and Tate after the Q&A

Rios Libres table- NO MORE DAMS

Also, thanks to AZRA who helped bring the event to fruition with their generous donation, Circus Bacchus for performing throughout the night, Dre for being our wonderful emcee, and to everyone who helped make it happen!